The application cycle for the NIH extramural Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) is underway and ends on December 1, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. Highly-qualified health professionals who are or will be engaged in biomedical or behavioral research and who have started an online application should complete it now; those who have not yet started should visit http://www.lrp.nih.gov/ to learn more about the programs and apply.
The extramural LRPs often allow scientific investigators to remain in the research workforce, achieve research independence, and focus their efforts on advancing the health of the nation without having to worry about their student loan debt. Each year, some 1,600 research scientists benefit from the more than $70 million NIH invests in their careers through the extramural LRPs. The extramural LRPs include Clinical Research, Pediatric Research, Health Disparities Research, Contraception and Infertility Research, and Clinical Research for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds.
BENEFITS: New LRP contracts are awarded for a two-year period and repay up to $35,000 of qualified educational debt each year. Tax offsets also are provided as an additional benefit. Participants may apply for competitive renewals, which are issued for one or two years. Undergraduate, graduate, medical school, and other health professional school loans qualify for repayment. An NIH grant or other NIH funding is not required to apply for or participate in the LRPs.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must possess a doctoral-level degree (with the exception of the Contraception and Infertility Research LRP); be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident; devote 20 hours or more per week to conducting qualified research funded by a university, non-profit organization, or federal, state, or local government entity; and have qualified educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of their institutional base salary.
QUESTIONS? Visit the LRP website at http://www.lrp.nih.gov/ for more information and to access the online application. For additional assistance, call or e-mail the LRP Information Center at (866) 849-4047 or lrp@nih.gov.